Norway vows to strengthen control over Arctic Svalbard

Norway announced on Friday it planned to strengthen its control over the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic, a strategic territory which is attracting the interest of foreign powers.

Svalbard, whose main island is twice the size of Belgium, straddles the European continent and the polar region.

Worsening tensions between Russia and the West have boosted its geopolitical and economic value.

So has the shrinking of the Arctic's sea ice cover due to global warming, which is opening up the possibility of lucrative shipping routes and more resource extraction.

"Svalbard is an important part of Norway. In this time of significant changes, management of Svalbard should be predictable and follow a precise course," Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl said as she presented a policy document on the territory.

"We will strengthen national control over the archipelago and support Norway's presence there."

Svalbard is governed under an unusual legal framework that allows foreign entities to gain footholds in the region.

A treaty signed in 1920 recognises Norwegian sovereignty over the territory but it also gives citizens of the signatory powers -- which include Russia and China – the same rights to exploit its mineral resources.

Russia's state-owned Trust Arktikugol has several coal-mining operations on the islands.

 Science, tourism plans 

 According to Norwegian statistics office SSB, just over 3,000 people live on Svalbard today.

Around 2,600 of them reside in the Norwegian settlements of Longyearbyen, the main town, and Ny-Alsund.

The other 400-odd are in the Russian localities of Barentsburg and Pyramiden.

Russia says it now wants to develop scientific and tourist activities there, a project that sometimes comes into conflict with regulations put in place by Norway.

China, which defines itself as a state "close to the Arctic", is also showing a growing interest in the region.

Among the measures unveiled in its white paper on Friday, the Norwegian government says it wants to give the state greater powers to boost energy security in Longyearbyen, one of the northernmost communities in the world.

It also plans to better protect the natural environment by limiting the range of human activities permitted on Svalbard, which is on the forefront of climate change, in a region that is heating up faster than any other on the planet.

Since 2022, non-Norwegian residents -– who comprise more than a third of the population of Longyearbyen –- have been restricted from voting in its local elections.

Only people who have lived for at least three months in mainland Norway have the right to cast their ballot.